MOSCOW, November 23. /TASS/. The accusations by the US military that Russia has carried out air strikes against the moderate opposition in Syria are unfounded and do not change in spite of the recent large-scale terrorist attacks, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said on Monday.
"Statements by individual, supposedly, military professionals, such as the spokesman of the US Central Command who said that the majority of Russian air strikes were directed against the moderate Syrian opposition do not change, in spite of everything. As always, they are groundless, without concrete facts citing some anonymous sources," Konashenkov said.
He noted that the Russian Defense Ministry had expected the appearance of "another portion of speculations in Western media" over the large-scale operation to destroy the terrorist infrastructure across Syria. "However, I must emphasize that, following tragic events in Paris, over Sinai and in Mali, they became a little more careful in their statements," Konashenkov said.
- Russian aircraft destroy terrorist oil refinery in Syria — Defense Ministry
- Russian forces make airstrikes on 472 terrorist facilities in Syria over past 2 days
- Lavrov, Kerry discuss joint efforts against IS — Foreign Ministry
- Russian, foreign partners’ lists of terrorists in Syria largely coincide — Lavrov
- Russian FM: US deliberately sparing Islamic State seeking to weaken Assad
- Putin urges foreign partners to compile single list of extremist organizations
According to Konashenkov, the more precisely Russia hits terrorists, the more persistent the Pentagon’s representatives are in their attempts to convince the foreign public that not all terrorists are "bad." "Perhaps, this is the way the situation is seen from across the ocean. But in real life terrorism, as we know, has no comparative degrees or nationality. Terrorism is an absolute evil, which must be confronted in all its manifestations," Konashenkov added.
Russian aircraft have been carrying out airstrikes against terrorists in Syria since September 30, and on November 17 the military launched massive air strikes against militants, including with the use of strategic bombers. The Russian Defense Ministry said the Russian aircraft focused on destroying oil production, storage, transportation and processing facilities controlled by terrorists. According to Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, Islamic State [the organization is banned in Russia] terrorists are losing $1,5 million per day because of Russian air strikes.
The US-led coalition also carries out bombing raids of Islamic State facilities in Syria and Iraq. The Western operation has been in progress since 2014.